Spring-wheel for vehicles.



A'. F. PRBsT.

SPRING WHEEL PoR' VEHICLES. H APPLIOATION FILED MAY 19, 1910.

Patented `Apr. 9,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. 1". PRIEST.

SPRING WHEEL FOR EHIGLBS. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 19, 1910.

Patented Apr..9, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' AUGUSTUS F. PRIEST, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPRING-WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

l Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Appiieation filed May 19, 1910. serial No. 562,119. Y

To all whom it may concern f Be it knownthat I, AUGUSTUS F. PRIEST, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSpring-Wheels for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My object is to provide a novel construction of vehicle wheel of thetype employing springs for supporting the rim on the hub which willafford, in its use on a vehicle, the desired resiliency for absorbingshocks and vibrations produced by traveling over rough roads.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-gFigure 1 is a view in elevation of a wheel partly in section constructedin accordance with my invention, a portion of the tire being omitted.Fig. 2 is an edge view of the wheel viewing it from the top of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a section taken at the line 3 on Fig. 1 and viewed in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of theplurality of similar sections forming the wheel-rim; and Fig. 5, a viewin side elevation of one of the rimsections and coperating springshowing means 'for preventing disconnection of the spring from therimsections.

The hub of the wheel which is like that usually employed in wheels forautomobiles, is represented at 6, and is formed with an annular flange6a between which and an annular disk 7 the web 8 of a peripherallyflanged ring 9 is held, as by bolts 10. `The lianged portion of the ring9 contains radially disposed recesses 11 spaced apart equidistantly andopening through one side of the ring as illustrated in Fig. 3, thebottom surfaces ofthe recessesgll inclining downwardlyA toward theirlateral open ends, as represented at 12. Fittingat their inner ends inthe recesses 11 to extend radially of the axis uponwhichthe wheelrotates, are leaf-springs 13 each formed of a main member 14 and asupplemental yor reinforcing member 15, the latter being of slightlyless length than the member 14. The springs 13 are beveled on theirinner ends, as indicated at 16, and are held in the ring 9 againstlateral displacement therein by an annular plate 17 which iits againstthe sides of the spring 13 and the unflanged side of the ring 9 and isheld in place by bolts 18.

The rim of the wheel is formed of relatively movable sect-ions 19, eachof which is substantially T-shape in plan, having its outerylongitudinally convexed surface provided with undercut tire-engagingianges 2O at opposite edges. Each section 19 is arranged in reverseorder with relation to those adjacent to it, whereby these sections arecausedto laterally overlap each other at their kT-heads, as illustratedin Fig. 2. Each section 19 contains on its inner surface, in the endportions 21 of its T-head inwardly opening recesses 22, the walls ofwhich are inclined as represented at 23 in Figs. 3 and 4, the recesses22 of adjacent sections 19 opening toward each other and combining toaord a' socket of a width approximately, equal to that of the outer endsof the springmembers 14 which seatv therein.

The sections 19 laterally overlapping each otheras described aEord, byreason of the provision of the undercut flanges 20, the means/forconning an endless tire, such as that represented at 24, to the rim, thetire which may be of the solid or cushion type, being provided withannular beads 25 at its opposite sides for fitting under andinterlocking with the undercut flanges 20 on the rim, as illustrated inFig. 3.

The parts of the wheel may be assembled in the following manner: Thesections 19 of the rim may be first applied tothe tire 24 in theoverlapping condition illustrated with their flanges 20 interlockingwith the beads 25 on the tire. The outer ends of the springmembers 14,which are preferably bent upon themselves as illustrated at 26 topresent curved bearing-surfaces, are then introduced into the socketsformed by the coperating recesses 22, to cause the shorter edges of thesprings to be uppermost, whereupon the ring 9 is applied to the springs13 to cause the inner ends of the latter to enter the recesses 11laterally of the wheel from their open sides, and the disk 17 therepositioned on the ring 9 and the parts just described moved into' thepositions illustrated in Fig. 3 by tightening the nuts on the bolts 18,the inclined surfaces 16-ofthe springs 13 in this operation riding uponthe oppositely-inclined bottom-surfaces 12 ofthe recesses 11 andoperating to place the springs 13 under the desired tension.` Thespring-members 15, which, by preference, are not assembled under tensionwith the other parts of the wheel, are preferably inserted into therecesses 11 with the members 14, the members 15 lying against theconcaved surfaces of the members 14 with which they coperate, but spacedtherefrom slightly at their outer extremities, as illustrated in Fig. 1,for a purpose hereinafter explained.

The rim-sections 19 by reason o-f the radial pressure exerted againstthem by the springs thus tend to spread apart, this tendency beingresisted by the tire 24 which is thus maintained firmly interloclredwith the rim-sections.

It will be noted from the forego-ing that each section 19, which is freeto move radially independent-ly of the others, is backed up by two ofthe springs 13 operating against their end-portions, and that eachspring 13 works against two adjoining secv tions 19, whereby abruptdiscontinuance of the action of any spring is avoided and uniformresiliency in the wheel is produced throughout its revolutions whentraveling over a road, the springs serving to absorb locally the shocksimparted tothem, and thus produce an action similar to that effected bya pneumatic tire.

It is preferred that the sections 19 be so proportioned with relation tothe tire 24, as to cause them to be spaced aparta slight distance bothlongitudinally and transversely, as represented in Figs. 2 and 3, andthat each section be provided with guide-lugs 27 which extend onopposite sides of the barportions of the sections 19 and overlap the endportions 21 of the T-heads of adjacent sections, whereby any tendency tolateral displacement of the sections 19, when the wheel is in action,will be resisted not only by the tire 24 but by the sections 19 adjacentto the one subjected to such laterally-operating force, it being desiredthat the guidelugs 27 be normally out of contact with the adjacentsections 19 with which they co operate.

As hereinbefore stated, it is preferred that each spring 13 be formed ofa member 14 normally under tension and non-tensioned supplementalspring-member 15, the tension of the spring-members 14 and theirarrangement and that of the members 15 being such that when the weightcarried by the wheel is directed against the sections 19 intermediatetheir ends, such weight is borne by two of the springs 13 and preferablyby the two members 14 only of such springs, whereas when the weight isdirected against the ends of the T-heads of the sect-ions 19, the weightis borne mainly by but one of the springs 13, thus compressing thespring-member 14 to a degree sufficient to cause the coperating member15 to be brought into operation and flexed against its inherent tension.It will thus be manifest that by the spring-construct-ion abovedescribed the yielding action of the sections 19 may be caused to beapproximately uniform irrespective of the points on the sections 19against which the weight on the wheel is directed, and thus uniformresiliency in the wheel is afforded.

In Fig. 5 I have shown means coperating with the springs 13 forpreventing them from becoming disengaged from the rimsections the use ofwhich may be desirable under some conditions. These means compriseangle-shaped brackets 28 bolted to each of the heads 21 and overlapping,at their outer ends, the outer deflected ends of the spring-members 14,but out of contact therewith.

l lVhile I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be understood as intending to limit it tosuch embodiment, as it may take various other forms without departingfrom the spirit thereof.

Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In aspring-wheel, the combination of its hub-portion, a rim formed of acircumferential series of laterally-overlapping relatively-movablesections, springs interposed between the rim and hub and bearing againstsaid rim-sections, a continuous t-ire confined about said rim, and lugson said rim-sections overlapping the sides of adjacent rim-sections, forthe purpose set forth.

2. In a vehicle-wheel, the combination with a hub-portion, a rim formedof a circumferential series of relatively-movable disconnectedlaterally-overlapping non-radially guided sections, a continuous tireconlined about said rim, and bow-shaped springs engaging with said huband with said rimsections, each of said springs bearing at its outer endagainst mutually overlapping portions of said sections, and the bowedsections thereof extending in the same direction, whereby therim-sections are capable of movement circumferentially of said hub.

3. In a spring-wheel, a spring-supported rim comprising acircumferential series o-f relatively movable laterally overlappingsections formed with recesses on their inner surfaces the recesses ofadjacent sections opposing and opening into each other and into whichthe springs of the wheel extend, and a tire confined about the rim.

AUGUSTUS F. PRIEST.

In presence of- R. A. SCHAEFER, JOHN VILsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents ech, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

